The Maid by Nita Prose

Hello everyone.  I hope you are well.

During this time where we have found ourselves at home more due to pandemic and weather, have you found yourself cleaning more?  I know there was a huge rush of people cleaning out closets when Covid first hit, as if that was adequate entertainment.  I am sorry to say that if you open any of my closets you best duck as you're likely to get beaned with a flying sneaker.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I love the house to be perfect, I just don't want to be the one to make it that way.  I admit, after seeing news stories about industrious people organizing their homes, making good use of their time, I was inspired.  I cleaned out a drawer in our dining room buffet.  Yep, that's as far as I got.  I don't know, it all lost its appeal as soon as I found the exploded fifteen-year-old batteries that put acidy white powder over everything.  I mean there is cleaning, then there is real cleaning.  I am more of a "wave a sponge around and light a good smelling candle" girl.

I recently read The Maid by Nita Prose.  This is the story of a young woman named Molly.  She leads an orderly life.  She lost her best friend, mentor and roommate, her beloved grandmother a few months ago.  Gran had helped Molly navigate through life as Molly is a bit awkward with social situations. What is Molly good at? Cleaning.  Molly loves and is great at cleaning.  She is one of those people who is fortunate to do what she loves as Molly works at a grand hotel as a maid.  Yes, you read that correctly she loves to clean and return rooms to a state of perfection.  One day, she tries to service the suite of a wealthy couple only to find the husband dead.  What happened? Was he killed?  Who did it?  

This book was interesting and fun.  Some have described it like the game Clue, which is accurate.  I swear as I read even the book looked cleaner than most, with crisper printing and more accurately cut book pages.  Molly is so contagious she actually gave me a physical book in the "state of perfection".  The writing is wonderful and characters complex, you won't be disappointed with this classic who-dun-it.

So, take off your maid costume (I won't judge) and put down your feather duster and go get this book.

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

Hello everyone. I hope you are warm and safe.

Holy cow it's snowing.  Not here of course, it's 70 here.  My sisters, however, are getting loads of ice, soon to be followed by lots of snow.  To be honest, normally I'd be laughing hysterically now, but the ice freaks me out.  The whole bit about no traction on roads, it raining trees knocking power out and having no heat seems just a tiny bit dangerous. When we were kids, we did "the snow dance" which we should have patented because it was often effective in bringing snow and the desired outcome of no school the next day.  We would perch ourselves kneeling on the couch, elbows on the back looking at the street in front of our house.  The hill it sat on could predict things like whether or not you should bother doing your homework, simply by denying cars passage upward.  If cars didn't make the hill, no classes.  The time a car slid backwards down the hill hitting our mailbox...no school for two days. Yep, the snow dance and our prediction center were mystical.  Poor kids now have home schooling on bad weather days, shame you're missing out on Frosted Flakes and hours of cartoons.

I recently read The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf. This is the story of Wylie, an author, who writes about true crime.  Wylie is in a rural farmhouse working on her latest book when a horrible snow and ice storm hits.  With power and phone out, she finds herself truly alone until she finds a hurt child, outside in the storm. As Wylie tries to find out the history of this child, the reader goes back in time to learn about a terrible crime.  Twenty years earlier two people are brutally murdered, and a girl goes missing.  Gudenkauf does a great job at pulling these two timelines and stories together.  This fast-reading book is action packed and will have you bleary eyed giving up your sleep just to keep flipping pages.  If you are in the mood for a real thriller and a wild ride, this one is for you.

Get yourself a big cup of hot chocolate and the economy size eye drops for this one, you'll need it!

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

Hello everyone.  I hope you are well.

I hate writing reviews when I have an unpopular opinion.  I feel like a negative Nancy going against the grain.  Who knows maybe I'm in a bit of a mood.  No, I'm not.  Okay just a smidge.  It's this snow!  Are you getting snow?  We're about to get our third snowstorm, along with lots of wind and temps close to the single digits. Now before you start shaking your head and tell me to get off my pity pot that it's lots worse where you are, I know.  However, I moved five hundred miles south and to the coast to avoid this type of weather. I find it completely unacceptable that I have experienced tornados, floods, snowstorms and gobs and gobs of hell on earth hurricanes. Doesn't it seem like you should only have to deal with one weather condition?  Midwest has tornadoes, the north has snow, the southeastern coast has hurricanes and the west...they have California to deal with...just kidding...they have earthquakes and terrible fires.  It seems unjust to have to be hit with multiples. So, to get back to the point snows-a-comin, grocery stores are empty, and it's freezing cold.  At least I have a house full of books to keep me occupied.

I recently read Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica.  First of all, my normal warning.  I'm a housewife and this is a bestselling book.  Take my words about it with a grain of saltwater taffy.  I don't know how to say this, so I'll just blurt it out...I don't get it.  There was such a buzz, such a hubbub about this book.  Amazon has it as an editor's pick for best thriller.  Um, why?  There was one exciting part, a chase, other than that...I just don't get it.  In this story a mother disappears, shortly after her daughter disappears as well.  Years later the daughter returns. There are twists but I found them completely predictable. In general, I enjoyed the book, the writing was okay and I'm glad I read it, but does it live up to the hype?  Not if you are a regular thriller reader, you'll have it figured out with ease.  

Check this book out yourself, maybe it reads better in a tropical climate.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a great day.

When you're in school, you learn about brave people that did unique things.  Sometimes when you become an adult you learn bad things about those same people.  Poor Amelia Earhart, experts think she may have landed on a deserted island, one that has crabs that eat you...literally.  How terrifying is that? That feeling of being on an island bothers me.  Now I don't mean areas like parts of the Outer Banks of NC.  Some parts of OBX are actual islands, but they are connected by bridges.  What about when the bridges wash out in a hurricane or worse yet, an island out in the middle of the ocean where a bridge to mainland is a faraway dream.  Now that is the stuff of nightmares.   Who knows what could happen there.

I recently read Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins.  Rachel also wrote The Wife Upstairs, which I enjoyed, and The Ex Hex under that name Erin Sterling, also fun.  Reckless Girls is about six people than end up on an adventure on a deserted island.  Meroe Island with its legends of murder, mystery, shipwrecks and cannibalism, sits out in the Pacific...all alone...surrounded by nothing but water.  When things start to go awry with the six new friends there is no one to call for help, no authorities to turn to.  When secrets are discovered and mistakes made, they can't be buried by the busyness of life.  It's an island, there is no "busy".  And when you discover people are truly evil...there is no escape. 

This book was an interesting read.  It's like when you are reading about someone underwater, and you find yourself holding your breath.  In this case, reading about people on an island makes me want to stay away from the water forever. While I found some of the characters a bit gullible initially, I found them surprising when the mayhem began. Some of their actions were predictable and others a great twist. Totally fun yet creepy, this story will leave you unwilling to get closer to the water than the freezer section at the grocery store to buy your kids fish sticks.  

If you have a devilish sense of humor, this would make a great gift for your friend to take on their cruise.

All I Want by Darcey Bell

Hello everyone.  I hope you're safe and warm.

So today, ladies and gents I want to talk to you about a horror story.  A truly scary topic, you may want your children to leave the room.  Ready, wait, are you seated?  Okay.., house prices.  Oh yes, I dared, I "went there".  Now that I have it out in the open, I feel so much better.  House prices in the United States have gone absolutely berserk!  Now, for selling my house, I, of course, welcome a high house price.  But how dare other house sellers want me to pay ridiculous prices for what amounts to a two-car garage.  Not even living over the "gay-raage" Sabrina style.  I'm talking almost $800,000 for less than 2,000 square feet, in some cases just two bedrooms.  And you house lovers please enlighten me about the current trend of NO DINING ROOM?  What numskull thought that was a good idea?  Don't people know I've got my grandparents china that is begging to be used.  No matter how you dress it up, fine, heirloom china and silver just doesn't work when you're eating in the kitchen, where dirty dishes abound, and the ice maker rumbles...there is no decorum.  Our old house days are done (after our current), but a Victorian house always has a stunning dining room.  Yup, they sure could make 'em back then and for less than a gazillion dollars too.

I recently read All I Want by Darcey Bell.  She is the author of A Simple Favor, which I read and enjoyed.  This time the story is about Emma and Ben.  They live in NYC, where Ben produces Broadway shows and Emma is pregnant with their first child.  Ben finds a great house at a cheap price (picture me rolling my eyes with jealousy).  The house is an old elaborate Victorian in the Catskills, it has a sorted past due to its large size.  Ben and the realtor convince Emma that this would be a great place to raise their child.  The purchase is made, a restoration contractor is hired.  Everything seems to be going as planned until Ben starts spending more time on his new show in the city and odd things start happening to Emma, now alone at their mansion.

This quick hit book of just over two hundred and fifty pages, is fun.  While it doesn't feature things jumping out at you, it definitely has the reader waiting for what's around each corner.  I thought I had it figured out, but on the very last page there is another twist and I discover I was wrong. I love when the author fools me.

If you want Shakespeare or a slasher movie....I mean book...this isn't for you.  If you want a quick hit of spooky, gotcha fun, this fits the bill.  Just the thing to keep you occupied during that next snowstorm.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Hello everyone.  I hope you enjoyed some nice holiday time.

I often tease my family here...hey, who wouldn't?  Especially if you met them, believe me, there is a lot to joke.  In fact, when we were at our first appointment for premarital counseling all those years ago, the minister asked what hubby and I saw as one of our major issues.  I said, "He thinks he's funnier."  My husband jumped in insisting that, in fact, he was the more humorous between us.  We had a lighthearted argument about it in front of the woman to marry us.  After that session she pronounced us ready to wed, even telling my mother we "would be fine" for the future. That was decades ago, and I don't know about us being "fine", but I will tell you that my husband still draws breath (for the time being), so I guess that is something.  

Seriously, my husband is a keeper.  He is strong but tender, unbelievably sweet yet equally annoying, he is way too smart when he wants to be.  Yep, he is one of the kind of men that I adore, those that are completely secure in their manhood.  They can go buy lipstick and lumber, carry heavy furniture one minute and cradle a tiny puppy the next. The kind of man that knows your pain or joy by just looking in your eyes.  I chose wisely.  Some do not.

I recently read The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner.  This is the story of Caroline, whose marriage is crumbling.  She escapes to London for a break, while there Caroline discovers an old bottle from a centuries old apothecary.  Since she is interested in history, she becomes determined to find the source of the unusual glass relic.  This story is also told from back when the apothecary is still operating.  It holds many secrets, including that its mission is to sell poison for women to use against their deserving husbands.

This clever story is a joy to read.   It is hard to put down as betrayal and mystery abounds.   As the present day and past stories start to mirror each other, you'll find yourself desperate to get to the finish, not wanting the storytelling to stop but to discover answers.  The end, both surprising and satisfying, left me wanting more. This sweeping tale is a pleasure and not to be missed.

How about The Lost Tavern next?  No, no, The Lost Bookstore!

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox

Hello everyone. I hope you are enjoying your day.

I try and stay light-hearted here.  Reading books and writing an often too long paragraph about some family thing that somehow ties into the story, isn't really rocket science.  Let's call it what is...a self-indulgent way to justify buying more books. Yes, I know you're shocked that I admit it but hey it's working for me. Today, though, I want to be a bit more serious for a minute.  It's the holidays and lots of people are by themselves, more because of the pandemic.  Please know that you are not alone.  For us, illness counts are climbing rapidly in our state, so we are hanging out at home.  I haven't been able to see my family in person for years. That's okay if it keeps everyone safe, that is what is important.  We haven't even put up any decorations yet.  We usually have SIX Christmas trees and a house full of people but not now.  It's hard to get in the spirit of things when the world is upside down.  Heck, the roast we usually serve now costs almost two hundred dollars.  So, if you're sitting in an apartment somewhere, maybe sad, please know that you are not alone.  Even though I am married things aren't the same.  The news may show crowded airports and large family gathering, but many of us are not willing to take that chance.  Again, you aren't alone.  If you're feeling down, maybe you don't have to do the whole holiday "thing" but have a cup of hot chocolate and watch a seasonal favorite, for me it would be Charlie Brown Christmas, even though it makes me think of my mom and I cry every time.  Or perhaps a good old movie, like Gaslight.  Yes, it's not just a political term but comes from a real movie.  I annoy hubby by imitating Claude Raines saying "Oh Paula" with my fake French accent for days after seeing it.  Or here is a "novel" idea, you could read that book you've always wanted to get to but keep putting off.  Get it...novel idea?  

I recently read The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox.  This is the story of twins (yes, again) who are each a cooking wiz.  Charlie bakes and is a judge on a tv cooking competition show.  Sister Cass runs the family bakery back home.  While taking a break from filming Charlie is hit on the head when a rack of pans falls over.  Her concussion causes her to lose her sense of taste and smell.  How can she continue her job like that?  She can't, so the twins switch places. Of course, they don't tell anyone.  Not only do they each have trouble blending into their new temporary lives, but each meets a man that seems to be their perfect match.  Now what?  

This is a cute, quick hit, Christmas romance.  It's easy reading that is an absolute requirement if you are a baker or lover to cooking competition shows, it mentions some by name.  In addition, there is holiday cheer aplenty with small town quaintness and lots of snow.  My only suggestion, don't read on an empty stomach.